Scabbard for ice skate



United States Patent O 3,338,588 SCABBARD FOR ICE SKATE George A. E. Couture, 1180 Murray Ave.,` Quebec 6, Quebec, Canada Filed Jau. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 428,460 4 Claims. (Cl. 28o-11.38)

The present invention relates to a scabbard and more particularly to a scabbard designed to protect ice skate blades.

Scabbards for use in connection with ice skate blades are normally molded of rubber, nylon or other similar natural or synthetic materials that are adapted to be shaped to lit snugly about and engage the skate blade. Such scabbards are conventionally stocked in a large number of different sizes to accommodate demands for scabbards that iit the many ice skates that are made. A1- though ice skate blades are made for men, women and children and come in a variety of different styles including figure skates, hockey skates and racing skates, the blades themselves generally have a relatively narrow range of widths. The major difference in blade sizes is in the length of the blade.

Carrying a large stock of different sized scabbards by retailers is burdensome and expensive, and inefficiencies in handling such stocks often results in stock shortages which are inconvenient both to the dealer and to customers.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved scabbard construction which is designed for use with all of the usual types and sizes of ice skate blades.

The presentinvention provides a scabbard construction which may be fabricated in a single size but which is adapted to be sized by a retailer for use with any normal skate regardless of style or size. The scabbard of the present invention is made preferably of a relatively hard but flexible plastic material such as nylon or Tellon. It is shaped to engage and cover the whole edge of the longest normal ice skate blade commercially available. This scabbard is formed with a series of grooves or other markers extending transverse to its length which deline a series of segments. The grooves provide guide means for cutting to segment or shorten the scabbard. A series of transverse holes are formed in the scabbard in a series related to the segments defined by the grooves so thatva skate blade retaining element may be adjustably positioned on the scabbard when it has been cut to a particular size for retention on a particular sized blade.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing a scabbard embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the scabbard shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an end view looking from the left of FIG. 2.

The scabbard body 1 may be injection molded of a suitable material preferably nylon, rubber or some other suitable synthetic or natural material which is conventionally used in the fabrication of ice skate blade scabbards. This material should have suflicient strength to be secured to the blade and protect its edges even when the skater is Walking on the protected blades over material such as stone, concrete and other relatively hard surfaces. The scabbard body is preferably formed with opposed side walls 2 and 3 which extend in parallel spaced relation to one another from the forward end 4 to the tail end 5. The side walls 2 and 3 are integrally connected with one another by a bottom wall 6 which also extends from the forward end 4 to the tail end S of the scabbard body. The bottom Wall 6 is formed with oppositely aligned projecting flanges 7 and 8 which extend outwardly of and normal to the side Walls 2 and 3. These anges 7 and 8 and the bottom wall 6 are arcuately shaped at the forward end forming an upwardly extending arcuate section 10 that is adapted to extend over and engage the tip of an ice skate blade. The lower surface of the bottom wall 6 is formed with a series of transversely extending downwardly projecting teeth 11, or some other suitable engaging surface, to maximize the gripping characteristics of the scabbard. The side walls.2 and 3 are arcuately formed and contiguous at their forward ends 4 With the upwardly extending arcuate section 10 of the bottom of wall 6 forming a partially enclosed forward end of the scabbard that is designed to engage the tip of an ice skate blade regardless of the style 0r size of the ice skate.

A series of parallel spaced grooves or depressions 14 are formed in side walls 2 and 3. These grooves preferably form depressions in the side Walls that extend into the Walls approximately 25% of the thickness of the walls. The grooves 14 should not be so deep as to cause a substantial weakening of the walls that would permit inadvertent cracking or breaking of the scabbards along these grooves, but these grooves should be defined well enough and deep enough to guide a cutting instrument so that the scabbard may be severed along lines defined by these grooves.

The grooves 14 extend from the upper edges of the side Walls 2 and 3 preferably slightly angularly, rearwardly and downwardly to the bottom wall 6. Grooves 15 are formed preferably at the outer edges of the flanges 7 and 8 of the bottom wall and may, if desired, extend across the upper surfaces of these projecting lianges 7 and 8 between their outer edges and the outer surfaces of the side walls 2 and 3 respectively. These grooves 15 are aligned and continuous one each with groove 14.

A plurality of holes 17 extend through the bottom Wall 6 just above theupper surface of the projecting flanges 7 and 8. These holes 17 are positioned in longitudinal alignment along the length of the scabbard body. Preferably, the rearmost segments 18, 19, 20 and 21 are not formed with such holes extending through them, but the remaining segments indicated at 22 are each formed with one hole 17. In addition, and preferably, a series of holes extend forwardly through the scabbard body, forward of the foremost segment 26.

An adjustable clamp or blade retaining member 30 is provided for adjustable engagement in one of the holes 17. This blade retaining member 30 is formed with a flat metal strip which is bent into a loop 31 that is adapted to thread through the holes 17. This loop 31 somewhat oval in shape, has its ends forming an intermediate opening to receive and engage the looped ends 32 of spring 33. The body of spring 33 may, if desired, be provided with a covering or sleeve 34 of vinyl or other suitable material that is adapted to prevent scratching of the blade by the rubbing of the spring 33 against the blade.

These scabbards which normally are sold in pairs, may be stocked by a dealer in one size only. When they are sold to a customer having skate blades which are substantially shorter than the scabbards, the dealer may measure the length of the skate blades in the scabbard bodies 1. The projecting portions of the scabbard bodies may then be cut olf beyond the tail of the skate blade along one of the defining grooves 14. The blade retaining member 30 may then be positioned in the hole most suited for proper resilient engagement of the blade retaining member 30 With the tail of the ice skate blade positioned in the scabbard body 1. It is not normally necessary to provide openings in the rearmost segments 18, 19, 20 and 21 since the blade retaining member 30 usually has to be positioned substantially forward of the rearmost portion of the blade so that it may engage in resilient spring tensioning contact with the standard securing the ice skate blade to the ice skate shoe.

What is claimed is:

1. A scabbard for use in protecting ice skate blades comprising an elongated member having opposed longitudinally extending continuous side walls interconnected with one another by a bottom wall contiguous with the side walls,

means forming a plurality of parallel segments integrally formed on the outer surface of at least one of said side walls and arranged in series and extending forwardly from the rearmost portion of said scabbard and,

adjustable means for securing an ice skate blade between said sidewalls.

2. A scabbard for use in protecting ice skate blades comprising an elongated member having side walls interconnected With one another by a bottom wall contiguous with the side walls,

means forming a series of grooves extending downwardly from the upper surface of said side walls on the outer surface thereof, with said grooves arranged in series and extending forwardly from the rearmost portion of said scabbard,

means for securing an ice skate blade between said side walls, and

means for securing said last-mentioned means at one of a plurality of longitudinally aligned locations along said scabbard body.

3. A construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein said longitudinally aligned locations along said scabbard body comprise a plurality of holes arranged in a series extending forwardly of the foremost of said series of grooves.

4. A scabbard for use in protecting ice skate blades comprising an elongated member having sidewalls interconnected with one another by a bottom wall contiguous with said sidewalls and forming an elongated channel therewith,

projecting anges extending outwardly of and normal to said sidewalls from said bottom wall, said anges having a thickness less than the thickness of said bottom wall,

a plurality of spaced parallel grooves formed in the outer surfaces of said sidewalls and extending angularly downwardly lfrom the upper edges thereof toward said flanges and defining a plurality of parallel segments extending forwardly from the rearmost end of said scabbard,

means forming a plurality of spaced parallel holes transversely through said bottom wall from one side to the other on a level above said anges, and

spring means constructed to be selectively positioned in said holes for securing a skate blade positioned in said channel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,667 10/1928 Kaskey 280-11.38 2,536,382 1/1951 Matchett 280-l1.38 3,135,526 6/1964 Johns 280-1l.38

BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

M. L. SMITH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SCABBARD FOR USE IN PROCTECTING ICE SKATE BLADES COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBER HAVING OPPOSED LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CONTINUOUS SIDE WALLS INTERCONNECTED WITH ONE ANOTHER BY A BOTTOM WALL CONTIGUOUS WITH THE SIDE WALLS, MEANS FORMING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL SEGMENTS INTEGRALLY FORMED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS ARRANGED IN SERIES AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM THE REARMOST PORTION OF SAID SCABBARD AND, ADJUSTABLE MEANS FOR SECURING AN ICE SKATE BLADE BETWEEN SAID SIDEWALLS. 